Alaska-Specific Rescue Evac Medical Insurance

[Kevin Dill]

I know this topic pops up about once a year, but also the landscape changes in regards to coverages and need. So here we go:

You're in central AK and get hurt in a backcountry area. Your PLB, InReach, SPOT or other device will send the SOS and get a rescue response from the appropriate first responders. They'll get you out...probably by helicopter...and dropped either at a regional hospital or to a ground-based ambulance for final transport to hospital. These first responders will most likely NOT be private for-profit companies, but rather government-funded or volunteer operated. True?

Would there be ANY costs assessed for those rescue/evac services which are provided by a government-funded or volunteer organization?

What...if any...real need or benefit is there in purchasing one of the rescue/evac/medical policies? I'd like to keep the answers as factual as possible and avoid speculation. I'd rather not spend money only to buy something (a policy) which I don't need and might boil down to nothing more than peace of mind.

Your knowledge is appreciated.

 

[casey.hunts]

Following, would like to know more.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[william schmaltz]

Good topic. My wife is dead set on filling her chugach goat tag in three weeks and she will be a little over 7 months prego. We just had this discussion last night and are trying to figure out the best option. It was my understanding that the military and coast guard do not charge because they don't want people to hesitate if they need help. In our case in the chugach, i would assume the military would come in and haul her right to Providence. At that point, it would just be regular medical. Hopefully our disgusting annual tax bill would cover this service!

Hopefully someone can chime in.

 

[AKDoc]

This is a good question, but I'm encouraging people to get direct answers for themselves. Go to the source and ask. Below is a link to various SAR resources in Alaska. You will notice that it says the Alaska State Troopers are responsible for coordinating all SAR in the state, which is what I have always heard, so talk first with them:

Alaska Search and Rescue

There is a lot of misinformation and well intended but outdated information that is out there. I have heard many different explanations from different people regarding your question, which I won't repeat here. Again, get the information directly yourselves. At least you would hear it first-hand...even if somebody else hears something different from the same source.

I carry an inreach and sat phone with me. I have a game plan sequence and phone numbers that I am contacting if an emergency situation arises. I also carry a membership to LifeMed Alaska, who has an aircraft hanger in Bethel.

 

[akspudus]

I’m so glad to see people pondering and considering this issue.
Search and rescue in Alaska is usually coordinated by the State Troopers with the Coast Guard and Air National Guard. They will often get you out...and to the closest emergency room.
Alaska has three medevac companies. LifeMed, Airlift Northwest and Guardian. Each company has differing aircraft capabilities.
LifeMed operates a few helicopters in the Anchorage/Kenai peninsula area and fixwing (learjet and king air) around the state. They fly with a nurse and a peramedic. They also have fixwing bases in western, central and southeast Alaska. Their medical direction/oversight is out of the Providence Anchorage Emergency Department.
Airlift Northwest has two fixwing aircraft in Juneau. A Learjet and a PC-12 pilatus. They fly with two nurses and thier medical direction/oversight is out of Harborview Medical Center (level 1 trauma center) in Seattle. They also carry blood products.
Guardian operates fixwing aircraft out of Anchorage, Fairbanks and southeast Alaska. They fly nurse and paramedic.
Each company offers thier own insurance to cover the costs that your main medical insurance doesn’t cover. The best thing you can do is call your insurance company and ask them about your coverage. Then you can determine if you need additional coverage....and pick one or more of the companies in the area you will be in.
I am a flight nurse with Airlift Northwest out of Juneau. I carry two medevac insurances. The redundancy is in case I’m in a place where my preferred company couldn’t get to me.
Say I get hurt in the Brooks Range...(heaven forbid....knock on wood). Search and Rescue would get me to the closest clinic/ER. That could be Kotzebue or maybe Fairbanks. A lot of injuries would exceed the capabilities of either place so I would have to be medevaced to Anchorage or maybe even Seattle. That medevac bill could be well over $100,000...to my insurance. Maybe I have a 20% co-pay with a $10,000 catastrophic cap. I’m at least out $10,000....maybe more. Instead I purchase the $120 medevac insurance.....at least all of my medevac is covered.

Hope this helps!

Akspudus

 

[Kevin Dill]

Thank you sincerely to those who added knowledge or commentary on this topic. It just seems like there's a vagueness about understanding the shifting triad of rescue coordination, actual first responders, and coverage of costs. That's no doubt due to differing venues, organizations, coverages, scenarios, and so on. It's just not a black-and-white thing. Insurance is supposed to provide financial protection/support in case of need, but so many exclusions often apply that an attorney is needed to interpret a policy. I definitely don't mind paying up to a couple hundred dollars annually for evac (and related med) insurance. As advised by akspudus, first logical step is to contact your insurance provider and hit them up for specific coverages and limits.

 

[Wapiti1]

I looked at this last year for my hunt up there. The basics were that the immediate evacuation would be no cost, or low cost (<$1500) to the nearest medical facility. On occasion local companies as have been noted above, or others are employed, and you may see a bill from them.
Just like you would get one for ambulance service separate from the hospital bill. Anything from that point on, i.e. treatment, was on my dime. So, transport to a better equipped facility, or whatever, was on me.

My insurance would cover the medical treatment, and transport costs, IF they deemed it warranted/justified. In other words, the doctors could say, take this bear chewed mass of flesh to Anchorage, and my insurance company could say, we don't think that was needed, we aren't paying.

For last year's hunt, I was not far enough out from Anchorage to worry about it. However, in past years, and NOT trusting my greedy a-hole insurance company, I got a supplemental policy specifically for all emergency services that would cover me from the accident site all the way back to my doorstep in Indiana. That policy was about $275 for a year to include evac, care, extended care if needed and all transport to get me home.

Jeremy